Claiborne County

LANGUAGE

The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.

Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Only English

10,207

96.79%

10,691

96.78%

Spanish

72

0.68%

182

1.65%

Other Indo-European*

241

2.29%

117

1.06%

Asian Language**

7

0.07%

0

0.00%

Other

19

0.18%

57

0.52%

Total Population Age 5+

10,546

100.00%

11,047

100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

67

36.81%

Other Indo-European*

43

36.75%

Asian Language**

0

-

Other Language

5

8.77%

Total

115

1.04%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990

Language Spoken at Home:

Number

Percent

Spanish

31

43.06%

Other Indo-European*

76

31.54%

Asian Language**

7

100.00%

Other Language

0

-

Total

114

1.08%

* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."

** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.

Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.